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Moby – Next Is The E (Synthe Mix) [1990s HOUSE]

Moby – Next Is The E (Synthe Mix)

The early 1990s was an interesting time for the New York underground scene. Larry Levin was living his final years, seasoned clubbers reminisced about the good times of Studio 54, while Garage House moved across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom. Then came Moby, and brought a fresh dimension of ‘rave’ into the mix. A lonely inhabitant of an abandoned factory based in skid row outskirts of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, he was inspired by fringe culture. A regular DJ at the Mars Club, he introduced the locals to his innovative sound. Though ‘Go‘ birthed the producer’s career, ‘Next Is The E’ was always the set-starter, according to his 2016 autobiography ‘Porcelain‘.

The track opens up with a drum pattern similar to 1980s Hip Hop hits such as Big Daddy Kane’s ‘Ain’t No Half Steppin‘ or Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Paid in Full‘ that simmered its influence into 1990s. A hyperkinetic bass loops, an inheritance of Moby’s teenage years involvement in DIY punk bands. A masterful use of stripped down, sampled vocals have painted Moby’s picturesque discography. In ‘Honey‘ he sampled Bessie Jones, Boy Blues’ ‘Joe Lee’s Rock’ laid the fundamentals for ‘Find My Baby‘ & Vera Hall’s voice conducted ‘Natural Blues‘. Here he combines male ‘Heart-beating‘ chants with female ‘I Feel It‘ and ‘Yeah‘, all which sound related to the other. The breakdown, however, is the highlight of the track. Stripped of the bass, the kick and soft hi-hats accompany radiant ambient pads. Moby is gifted in soundscapes, none more evident than in ‘God Moving Over The Face of The Waters‘ which scored as the OST for Michael Mann’s 1995 movie ‘Heat‘. The melody coalesces, with repetition of ‘These are the odds‘ to raise the dopamine levels before all comes crashing into a drop. The preluding elements collide with the new vocal chants to complete a collage of rhapsodies, all dancing in unison to bring down the soundtrack of paradise.

One Discogs’ commentator eloquently describes ‘Next Is The E’ capturing “Moby at his most spiritual, possibly celebrating the pleasures of dancing to loud aggressive music, and the ecstacy that comes from it rather than the drug itself.” The sublime spiritualism clashes in combat with hedonistic culture recently imported from the UK’s Second Summer of Love. There’s a great sense of irony that the leading track of the 1991s raves was produced by a sober, vegan Christian. However, the track is evidence that the impact of electronic music can be entrancing in its packaged, substanceless state.